Nature Lessons
by venusgirl
Summary: Edér takes the Watcher out for some survival lessons and discovers she currently has zero survival skills and a past she isn't ready to share yet.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Is this good for anything?" Samudra chirped, holding a green, three leafed plant up. She, Edér, and Aloth had been on the road for a couple days, heading to the mysterious and abandoned keep of Caed Nua which supposedly might hold some answers about her condition, and hopefully good news on a cure. Hopefully. When Edér had volunteered to take her on a day trip in the wilderness to help her improve her survival skills by teaching her about various plants and their practical uses, it seemed like a welcome distraction to the travel and her constant ruminating--not to mention the restless and nightmare filled nights that plagued her. Aloth had been only too happy to leave Samudra in Edér's capable hands and have a quiet day poring over his grimoire.

Edér looked over his shoulder and sighed. Teaching the Watcher survival skills was turning out to be much more difficult than he'd originally thought. So far, she'd managed to find three different types of poisonous plants, a stink bug, a sink hole, and a group of sporelings. He was beginning to wonder how she had even made it to adulthood. "Uh, that's good for giving you a really itchy rash."

Samudra gasped and dropped it, quickly rubbing her hand on the leg of her brown trousers. She glanced around. Edér was already continuing down the path. Suddenly, sometimes flitted in front of her eyes. Her gaze followed it. The vivid green wings of the insect captivated her. She glanced at Edér's retreating form. They were staying to the path and there was no chance of her getting lost, she reasoned. She snuck closer the creature. Upon closer inspection, there were emerald colored diamonds with a white circle in the middle on the back of the insect's wings, making them look like eyes were peering back at her. "Edér! Come see!"

Edér turned in time to see Samudra reach her hand out toward the creature. Before he could shout a warning, her hand got close enough that the insect fluttered its wings aggressively, sending spores into the air in a cloud.

Samudra coughed violently and stumbled. "Edér, I feel funny," she mumbled, shaking her head. As she reached out to balance herself against a tree trunk, she fell forward; she'd miscalculated the distance between herself and the tree. Edér caught her by the shoulder and steadied her.

"Hey, whoa there. You're ok. Let's get you back to camp, though. You're going to feel weird for a while, and you'll probably get--" Samudra slumped entirely, "--sleepy." He scooped her up, thankful she wasn't very heavy. It was about a mile back to camp. He sighed.

"I c'n walk," Samudra slurred, somehow managing to sound slightly petulant even through the fog of confusion and exhaustion.

Edér chuckled. "I don't think so." He didn't hear anything after that.

~~~~~~~*

When Samudra opened her eyes, she noticed a few things. The first that she was in her tent, covered up. The next that it was now night. She heard low, disgruntled whispers coming from outside the tent and froze. Grabbing her dagger from her boot, she snuck from her tent. Upon sneaking out, though, she realized it was only Edér and Aloth. She stowed her dagger away and approached them openly.

Seeing her coming, Edér elbowed Aloth, cutting off whatever he was saying. "Mornin', sunshine!" Edér said jovially.

Samudra chuckled. "Not quite morning, but it's good to be up. What happened? I remember looking at a bug and then feeling strange all of a sudden. Then I woke up. I didn't, uh, have a, you know, weird Watcher thing, did I?" She looked at Edér hopefully, wringing her hands together.

Edér shook his head. "No, that bug you were lookin' at it. It's a moth called Emerald's Malady. Least that's what I was taught growing up. People usually are attracted to it's beautiful green wings, but get too close and it shakes its wings really hard, sending spores all over you. They usually cause confusion and exhaustion."

Aloth huffed. "Yes, they've been known to cause death, as well. People become so confused they wander into danger." He pressed his lips into a thin line sending a glaring look at Edér from the corner of his eye.

Samudra glanced back and forth between the two. "Well, I guess it's a good thing that Edér was there with me," she said uncertainly. "Thank you, Edér. How'd I get back to camp, anyway?"

Edér shrugged. "I carried you."

Samudra gazed at him with utter appreciation. "Seriously? We were...at least a mile away from camp! I'm sorry," she said sheepishly.

Aloth stood up quickly and strode away without a word.

Samudra started to get up to run after him to see what was wrong, but Edér put a hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him in confusion, but sat back down.

"I don't understand," she said simply. "Is he mad at me?" She glanced again at Aloth's retreating figure which was practically shaking.

"No, not really. He's just upset in general and doesn't really know where to place it. He's upset that you got injured while I was with you. He thinks I should have been watching you more closely. He also feels guilty that he didn't come along. He thinks maybe he could have prevented it."

Samudra scrunched her eyes up. "I'm not a child," she said.

Edér sighed. "Like I said, I think he's just upset in general. Don't really seem like the type to be used to having people around to care about." He shrugged.

"I guess that makes sense," Samudra said slowly. She sighed. "I'm sorry. Guess I'm not exactly the survivor type, huh?" she said sheepishly.

Edér chuckled. "You are definitely not. That's the whole point of giving you these lessons, though. I was the same way as a kid. My big brother Woden taught me everything I know."

Samudra shot Edér a grin. "So are you big brother Edér now?"

Edér laughed. "Yeah, I guess I am. It's not as easy as Woden always made it look, that's for sure." He gazed at the campfire, lost in thought for a moment. "But if it makes you feel any better, I learned about Emerald's Malady the same way you did."

Samudra leaned closer. "Really?" It was hard to imagine Edér without his current knowledge and skill set.

Edér nodded. "Mm-hm. Almost exactly the same. I was out with Woden gathering some herbs for my Ma. When I saw the Emerald's Malady, it was so pretty I had to show Woden and ask him what it was. I got too close and it shook spores all over me."

"Did you have to be carried home?" Samudra asked slyly. Picturing Edér being carried anywhere was a funny sight to think about.

"Yeah, and Woden, he didn't ever let me live it down, believe me." Edér looked thoughtful. "Not to pry, but how is you've never seen an Emerald's Malady before? Or the poisonous plants? They're all over the Dyrwood, and kids usually run across all of 'em."

Samudra fidgeted in her seat and looked away. "I'm not really from around here. I'm from the Deadfire Archipelago."

Edér waited patiently, but she didn't offer up anymore. He knew a touchy subject when he saw one, and he didn't press her. "A story for another night, maybe," he said easily.

Samudra nodded gratefully. "Another night," she promised.

"Well," Edèr said, standing and stretching, "we didn't all lay around in our tents today after being carried back to camp. I'm gonna hit the hay."

Samudra nodded distractedly. "Yeah, ok, I'll take first watch."

Edér nodded, stepping into his tent and leaving Samudra by the fire with her memories.


	2. Chapter 2

Samudra sat for a long while, watching the fire dwindle and the coals become mere embers. It wasn't that she hadn't expected her past to eventually come up in conversation, but she didn't think she was ready to share just yet. It was enough for now that her new friends (she hoped they were friends) accepted the fact that she was a Watcher who could see other souls and their past reincarnations. She hadn't been entirely forthcoming about the teeny tiny fact that she was a cipher yet. She hadn't much used her abilities in years except to get her out of situations where she would otherwise have had to use violence to escape. Being a cipher had never brought her anything but grief and misery. She spent most of her time trying to forget that she could influence others' minds, though this new...Watcher aspect of her was making that rather more difficult.

She found her mind wandering to deep recesses of self-loathing, wishing she had simply never been born or that she'd been born someone else. With those thoughts came memories she'd long ago buried of her family...her true family. The one she'd been born into but then sent away from by the one remaining parent who refused to be destroyed by her daughter. The family before her family on the small island floating in the Deadfire she'd spent most of her life with.

The sounds of the crackling, dying fire were relaxing and soothing, and she found herself sinking deeply into memories she hadn't recalled in nearly two decades.

~~~~~*

The city market bustled with activity. Samudra loved when, once a month, merchants came to their village and set up their stands of fruits, vegetables, fish, and other wares.

Her father was usually happy and excited during this time, but these last few months, he had seemed distressed. He didn't sing or pick her up high to sit on her shoulders or buy a new ribbon for her hair. In the past few months, Samudra's young 6-year-old brain had surmised that her parents were having money problems. When they thought she sleeping at night, they talked about the business. Samudra's mother and father were herbalists, but lately, people had been turning to magic or even animancy for healing.

"Our stores are low," her mother had whispered in a frightened voice on a dark night. Samudra feigned sleep.

"I know, love, but we'll manage. Don't we always?" her father had said softly and reassuringly. "Market comes in a few days, and I've been able to turn coin enough to get us through another month. We just have to keep fighting."

Samudra desperately wanted to believe what her father said, but the growling in her stomach from another sparse dinner told her otherwise.

Pulled from the memory by her father tapping her on the shoulder and pointing to a fish monger's stand, she followed him. All the fish looked delicious, and Samudra smiled largely, licking her lips at the thought of a decent dinner.

Her father pointed to the fish he wanted to purchase. The fish monger named his price and her father offered some fresh herbs and a potion. The merchant shook his head. Her father frowned and looked into his coin purse. His face reddened, and in that moment, Samudra felt that life was very unfair. And then she whispered a suggestion, a tiny suggestion that the vendor wanted the herbs and the potion. She knew she shouldn't; she knew her parents had forbade it, had told her others would not understand her abilities it. But this was wrong. It wasn't fair. The trade was fair.

A faint purple haloed her dark ringlets; her lips moved almost imperceptibly. She cast the charm, and was rewarded with the vendor telling her father, in his unfamiliar accent, that, on second thought, the herbs and potion was sufficient payment. She smiled, proud she had been able to help her father.

Her sense of achievement was short-lived. She gasped as a hand roughly grabbed her shoulder. "Papa!" she yelled fearfully.

Her father turned to her and pulled her away from the man. "Jeb, what's the meaning of this!" her father shouted at the man that, now that Samudra looked closely, she realized had come to her home for potions and herbs in the past.

"Your daughter is swindling!" he yelled, incensed.

Samudra didn't know what that word meant, but she figured it had to do with her whispers. She hid her face in her father's cloak, properly scared, peering out only barely as Jeb's shouting drew a crowd.

The vendor stood up straighter. "What do you mean I was swindled?" he said angrily. He looked at the handful of greens and colorful bottle in his hand and the fish in Samudra's father's basket. "Hey, I don't want your herbs! You cheated me!" he yelled.

"Just what are suggesting?" Samudra's father asked. "You said you would accept them as payment." The crowd murmured.

"He said he accepted," one man muttered; "What's Jeb on about?" said another.

"I saw her!" Jeb shouted. "She had a purple glow about her head and she was whispering a spell under her breath! She's one of those ciphers!"

The vendor hissed. "A filthy brîshalgwin!" He fingered a crossbow that hung from his waist.

Samudra leaned even closer to her father and emitted a small whimper. She didn't know what any of them were talking about. They must mean her whispers! She knew she wasn't supposed to. The crowd began to close in now, angry mutters and whispers in the air. Samudra could feel the anger and hatred in their souls, but she didn't understand it. Her father looked back at her, fear in his eyes. "Samudra," he whispered. "Be strong." He drew the hatchet he had on his belt. "We're leaving. We'll go to another village. Just let us go and you'll never see us--" He was felled by the vendor's arrow before he could finish.

Samudra screamed. She screamed with her lungs and she screamed with her mind. The screams expanded around her, and people covered their ears and screamed, also. Some fell to the ground clutching their heads. She looked at her father's still form. He wasn't breathing, and she couldn't feel his presence. With everyone still clutching their heads, she ran. She ran faster than she ever had. Leaving the town square, she made for the trees and entered the forest, easily finding the little wagon path she and her father had followed to get here. Their footprints were still fresh in the mud.

She kept running until she could see her home. "Mama! Mammaaa!" she cried.

Her mother ran from around the house to see what was the matter. "Samudra? What is it? What's wrong? Where's your father?"

Samudra collapsed into her mother's arms. "The man killed Papa! The fish vendor!"

Her mother gripped her daughter hard. In the distance, Samudra could hear a crowd in the forest. "It's them, Mama! The ones from the market!" she shrieked. "Mama! I'm sorry! It's all my fault. I used the whispers! Please, Mama, we have to run. Run away with me!"

Samudra saw her mother's eyes close slowly. When she opened them, Samudra saw tears glistening. "I cannot go with you. You need to run. Hide your identity. And hide your whispers. Now go. Go the shore and sneak onto a boat leaving port. Hide yourself. Go!" she yelled, pushing Samudra away.

Samudra cried loudly. "No, Mama! I'm sorry! Please don't make me go away without you!" Her mother pushed again, yelling something Samudra couldn't hear over her sniffles. Her mama didn't want her. She ran blindly, tears obscuring her vision. She didn't remember choosing a boat, but she remembered the crack of gunfire above deck that had woken her from a fitful sleep stowed away in a barrel below decks. Bang! Crack! Crack! Boom!

~~~~~*

Crack! A twig broke behind Samudra, and she whipped around, daggers brandished, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Ye dinnae need those, lass!" Aloth--it came from Aloth's mouth at least--yelled, putting his arms in front of his face.

Samudra untensed slightly. "Aloth? What are you doing sneaking around. And what's with your accent? And…" She glanced at her daggers, still brandished, and pressed her lips together. She replaced them on her boots and rubbed the tears from her eyes aggressively. "I'm sorry. I just...you startled me."

Aloth raised an eyebrow and lowered his defensive stance. "So I see. Are you alright?"

Samudra tossed her hair over her shoulder in what she hoped was a nonchalant way. She didn't need to give the elf any more reasons to believe she was incompetent. "Yes, I'm fine. What is it?"

"It's dawn," Aloth said simply. "It's my turn for watch."

Samudra looked to the East. Sure enough, the sun's rays were just peaking over the horizon. She had really lost track of time. "Right. Of course," she replied evenly. "Well...good luck, then." She began walking to her tent.

"Samudra," Aloth began. "I don't mean to pry--" He paused.

"Yes, everyone's trying that today it seems," Samudra replied through clenched teeth. Noting the look of confusion in Aloth's face, she sighed and rubbed her hands over her own face. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired and maybe a little irritable. I'm going to head to bed. But, really, I'm just fine." She gave Aloth a big grin that she hoped appeared genuine.

Aloth looked doubtful, but returned a small smile. "Alright, then. Peaceful sleep." With that he began adding more wood to the fire for the morning. Opening his grimoire, he whispered a phrase and the fire rekindled instantly, growing as large as if it had never dwindled in the first place.

Samudra felt a pang of jealousy and guilt and slipped into her tent to get some rest she hoped truly was peaceful.


End file.
